What can entrepreneurs do to increase their chances of survival?
There are various ways of ensuring that a business survives and grows in the market place. In order to increase chances of survival, entrepreneurs can implement the following five key elements to increase the chances of survival.
1. Competitive advantage
The business should have a competitive advantage, so that it can gain more customers. This can be done by ensuring that the products and/or services are unique and different.
How will you ensure that your products and/or services are different and unique? Once you have a strong competitive advantage, you can stand out from the rest of your competitors and become your customers’ preferred choice.
2. Understand your customers
Know what your customers or potential customers want and what they value. Your offering should add value to your customers and meet their needs.
Other factors that need to be considered are: price/value-price, products should be notable and unique, it should be easy and convenient for customers to find, and then should be user friendly.
3. Have a plan: know where you are going
Know where you are heading and stick to your plan. Compile a detailed plan that will map out the business goals and timelines. Review the plan regularly to see if you are still on track.
4. Manage cash flow
One of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs is having a healthy cash flow to maintain and grow their businesses. This is one of the key areas that you should give a lot of focus. Good record keeping is the starting point of ensuring that a positive cash flow is achieved. Know your monthly income and expenses and monitor these very closely.
Expenses should be kept to a minimum and sales should constantly increase. In order to manage cash flow effectively, try to collect money from clients as quickly as possible and negotiate longer payment terms from suppliers. Regularly assess your finances and cash flow status.
5. Sales/marketing
Ensure that your products and/or services are known to your target market. You will need to be consistent with marketing the business. Make sure the marketing platforms are relevant to your target market.
These are some tips that if put into practice early on in a business, should increase an entrepreneur’s business surviving.